Special Care Patterns for Elderly HNSCC Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

Description

The number of elderly head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients is increasing; however, the evidence regarding the ideal treatment for this often vulnerable and frail patient cohort is limited. Although the benefit of concomitant chemotherapy has been reported to decrease in elderly HNSCC patients based on the MACH-NC meta-analysis, it remains unknown whether state-of-the art radiotherapy techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), modern supportive treatments and alternative chemotherapy fractionation (e.g., cisplatin weekly) may have altered this observation. The objective of this retrospective multinational multicenter study is to determine the oncological outcomes of elderly patients (≥65 years) with locally advanced HNSCCs undergoing definitive (chemo-)radiation and to investigate the influence of concomitant chemotherapy on overall survival and progression-free survival after adjusting for potential confounder variables such as age, performance status and comorbidity burden.

Conditions

HNSCC, Oral Cavity Cancer, Oropharynx Cancer, Hypopharynx Cancer, Larynx Cancer

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

The number of elderly head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients is increasing; however, the evidence regarding the ideal treatment for this often vulnerable and frail patient cohort is limited. Although the benefit of concomitant chemotherapy has been reported to decrease in elderly HNSCC patients based on the MACH-NC meta-analysis, it remains unknown whether state-of-the art radiotherapy techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), modern supportive treatments and alternative chemotherapy fractionation (e.g., cisplatin weekly) may have altered this observation. The objective of this retrospective multinational multicenter study is to determine the oncological outcomes of elderly patients (≥65 years) with locally advanced HNSCCs undergoing definitive (chemo-)radiation and to investigate the influence of concomitant chemotherapy on overall survival and progression-free survival after adjusting for potential confounder variables such as age, performance status and comorbidity burden.

Special Care Patterns for Elderly HNSCC Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

Special Care Patterns for Elderly HNSCC Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

Condition
HNSCC
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Baltimore

Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21287

New York

Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States, 10017

Cleveland

Department of Radiation Oncology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 10900

Columbus

Division of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner, Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43201

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * definitive (chemo-)radiotherapy of locoregionally advanced (cT3-4 and/or cN+) head-and-neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx
  • * primary treatment between 2005 and 2019
  • * age ≥65 years at the time of (chemo-)radiotherapy
  • * adjuvant (chemo-)radiotherapy
  • * history of previous head-and-neck cancers or radiotherapy in the head-and-neck region
  • * distant metastases at (chemo-)radiotherapy initiation (cM1)
  • * HNSCCs of the nasopharynx, salivary glands, skin or with unknown primary

Ages Eligible for Study

65 Years to

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

University Hospital Freiburg,

Nils H. Nicolay, MD, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg

Alexander Rühle, MD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg

Study Record Dates

2024-12-31